1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sample holding carrier that holds a sample prepared by applying fluorescence labeling to a test sample such as a cell and a fluorescence detection device using the same.
2. Disclosure of Related Art
It is important specifically in the medical field such as a clinical site to detect a cell infected with pathogenic bacteria and a cell in a predetermined form from a large number of cells. As a method for quickly, easily, and highly accurately detecting such a cell, a method below is introduced, for example. In this method, a plurality of micro chambers (wells) is formed on a microarray chip, and fluorescently-labeled cells are filled in the wells. The wells are then observed through a fluorescence microscope while being irradiated with laser light, and a certain cell emitting fluorescence is detected.
Moreover, such a configuration is known in which a series of wells filled with cells is scanned with laser light to detect fluorescence emitted from the cells. In this configuration, a series of wells is formed in the circumferential direction of a disk, and a series of information pits is formed in tracks on a layer isolated on the light incident side from a layer on which the wells are formed as the information pits are arranged along the arrangement of the wells. Positional information (address information) is held on the information pit.
In this configuration, in an optical system that detects fluorescence, a light source for irradiating the wells with excitation light and a light source for irradiating the information pits with laser light are separately prepared, and light emitted from the light sources are converged through a shared objective lens. The objective lens is controlled in such a manner that the laser light for information pits is focused on the information pits and caused to follow a series of information pit strings (a track). Thus, the excitation light is focused on cells filled in the wells, and a series of the wells is in turn scanned with the laser light. Moreover, the optical system includes a photodetector that detects fluorescence emitted from cells and a photodetector that receives laser light modulated by the information pits. A signal for controlling the objective lens and a signal for reproducing information held on the information pit are generated from the output from the photodetector that receives the laser light.
When fluorescence is emitted from cells by irradiating the cells with the excitation light, this fluorescence is detected by the fluorescence detection photodetector. Moreover, the position of a well accommodating a cell that emits fluorescence is identified from positional information acquired from the information pit when fluorescence is detected. As described above, the presence or absence of a detection target cell and the position of a well accommodating the cell are automatically detected from a large number of cells accommodated in a series of the wells arranged on the disk without observation through a fluorescence microscope.
In the configuration like the latter in which wells are scanned with laser light to detect fluorescence emitted from cells, when observation target cells are laid on each other in a well, it is difficult to efficiently irradiate individual cells with excitation light. In this case, it is likely that fluorescence emitted from cells in the well is not enabled to be highly accurately detected.